3.17.2011

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s the day when those of us who aren’t even remotely Irish (like me) get to pretend we are. And those that are Irish (like Boyfriend) get to celebrate it with a lot of green, and a whole lot of shenanigans. (That’s such a fun word!)

A couple weeks ago I started thinking of all the things I wanted to bake to celebrate a week’s worth of St. Patrick’s Day recipes. And then decided against pretty much all of them. My caramel didn’t turn out. I’ve done too many macarons. And everything else has been covered by pretty much EVERYONE else on the internet. I didn’t want to do the same old thing that you can find on every other blog. I wanted to be original. But, there was one thing that I just kept coming back to no matter what--Guinness and Irish Cream cupcakes. They’re everywhere. Everyone has made them. They’re not the least bit original. But they’re so damn good that I couldn’t help myself. So here it is. The obligatory Boozecake.

These things are seriously like crack to me. I can’t stop myself from eating them. Timmura (Mara Bakes) brought them as one of her entries in the first Cupcake Camp Columbus. I took about 5 of them home after the event. And didn’t share. A coworker used to bring a Guinness cake in every now and then. I’d eat 2 pieces on my lunch break. And maybe another on a 15. I can’t get enough of it. I don’t know why. I don’t even drink alcohol! But put it in a cupcake, and I’m ravenous.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat butter and Guinness over medium-high heat, stirring until butter is melted. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sour cream. Add the Guinness mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture, gradually, beating until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Make Frosting: In bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water on the stovetop, add egg whites, sugar, and pinch of salt. Whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160F).
6. Remove from heat and beat, using the whisk attachment of your mixer, until egg white mixture forms stiff, but not dry, peaks, about 7 minutes. (The bowl should be cool to the touch as well.)
7. Change to the paddle attachment of your mixer, and add butter, a tablespoon or two at a time, beating on medium-low speed, mixing well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beating until frosting appears thick and makes a slapping sound in the bowl, about 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add vanilla extract and Baileys Irish Cream.
8. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (1M) and pipe swirls onto cooled cupcakes.

Next time you make them, try that whiskey/chocolate ganache in the center. Holy bajeesus is that good. There's only two teaspoons of whiskey in it, but you get hit right in the face with it as soon as you take a bite.

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The Busty Baker is a newly 30-something retail slave who spends most of her downtime covered in flour in her tiny apartment kitchen, compulsively checking Twitter, and talking to her cat. Someday she'll figure out what she wants to do with her life, but until then, she'll continue to pawn her baked goods off on anyone who will take them.